Thursday, February 28

Over 1% of US adult population is currently in prison. That's nuts. I'm assuming that's largely due to the War on (Poor People's) Drugs. If you're a black man between the ages of 20 and 34, that number is closer to a staggering 11%.

Today's "Mallard Fillmore" floats the idea of the titular character seeking the Republican nomination for president. It's hard to tell which is creepier: the idea of our nation being led by a right-wing duck or Bruce Tinsley's rendering of his own fingertips in the strip's second panel.

Friday, February 22

Sunday, February 17

Picking the best movie soundtrack was the focus on a recent broadcast of the public radio program "Sound Opinions." The show's hosts and guests liked "Rushmore," "The Harder They Come" and "Amelie," among others. (They were less excited about "Juno.")

Here are some of my favorite soundtracks. First, here are two rules: I have to own the soundtrack, and I am disqualifying concert films ("Stop Making Sense") and music documentaries ("The Kids Are Alright"). With that out of the way, here we go:

Friday, February 15

Although "Team America: World Police" is an uneven movie, I admired that it used the marionette as a tool of satire. It was audacious to merge the politics and pop culture of today with an antiquated form of entertainment. And it felt totally original.

Well, maybe not. I recently stumbled over this music video for the Dire Straits song "Calling Elvis." It includes the same puppet ploy, and it was released in 1991, a dozen years before "Team America" came out.

I'm not accusing Matt Stone and Trey Parker of stealing the idea for their movie from Mark Knopfler. (Their inspiration was apparently the 1960s TV show "Thunderbirds.") But it does take some of the edge off of "Team America."

Saturday, February 9

In a "playing for pride" statement, the haggard obstetrician recently told his followers that he wants to go on with his presidential campaign, but he warned them that he must also fend off a challenge for his House seat. Even the Ron Paul blimp has been grounded for lack of sponsors.

We'll still have the moment when the Paul fans pursued Sean Hannity through the icy avenues of New Hampshire. Ah, those were good times.

Friday, February 1

So I finally got to see "Blade Runner" on the big screen recently. It largely reaffirmed my faith in its greatness. Even the things that bother me (Deckard's manhandling of Rachel, the failure to clarify why Roy sticks a nail in his hand, etc.) reinforce my belief that the best things in life are those with little flaws.

On this viewing, one other thing struck me: The movie has a subtle anti-outsourcing message, whether it meant to or not. The replicants are able to cause trouble through people not working at the Tyrell Corporation but who do replicant-related design. It's not entirely clear whether Chew and J.F. Sebastian were free-lancers or Tyrell employees simply working from home. But if Tyrell had kept that work in-house, the company would not have created the security breach that eventually allows Roy Baty to meet his maker.